Texas Rangers option Joe Palumbo to AAA Nashville

Texas Rangers transactions: Joe Palumbo, the lefthanded pitcher who was called up for today’s game, has been optioned to AAA Nashville, the team announced after the game. A corresponding move will be made Thursday, when the Rangers play again.

This move was expected, as Palumbo came up just to fill in for Mike Minor, whose start was being skipped. Palumbo didn’t appear until the fifth inning, but he threw three shutout innings, and now will presumably return to Nashville’s rotation. Hunter Pence will reportedly not be ready to be activated Thursday, but if you are looking for who may get the call Thursday, lefty reliever Kyle Bird had a scoreless inning for Nashville tonight and has 13.2 consecutive scoreless innings.

If you are wondering why Palumbo was sent down now, rather than Thursday, it is because he has to stay down for 10 days before being recalled (unless he’s replacing someone going on the injured list). This allows them to recall Palumbo four days earlier than if they waited until Thursday, should it be necessary.